Season preview: Oklahoma Shakespeare's expanded 2020 season to include 'Romeo and Juliet,' 'As You Like It,' free Myriad Gardens production of 'Midsummer Night's Dream' and more

Hal Kohlman appears in Oklahoma Shakespeare's 2012 production of "Othello." A mainstay of the company, Kohlman will play Friar Laurence in the theater's 2020 season opener, "Romeo and Juliet." [Photo provided]

An abbreviated version of this story appears in Thursday's Life & Style section of The Oklahoman.

Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park is entering the 2020s with an expanded year-round season that boasts both nostalgic nods to its past and timely storytelling themes.

"We're expanding the season yet again, from four shows to five shows to now six shows. ... There's a lot of growth going on this year," said Managing Director Tyler Woods. "We are trying to make Shakespeare accessible to the widest variety of audiences."

For the second year, Oklahoma Shakespeare is offering a year-round slate of shows, starting with one of William Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies - "Romeo and Juliet" - Feb. 13-March 1 in its intimate Paseo Arts District space.

But the venerable company - which this year officially becomes a small professional theater under Actors' Equity Association, the union representing live theater - also is broadening its outreach offerings, introducing a new spring fundraiser and leaving its longtime summer outdoor home on the Myriad Botanical Gardens Water Stage.

rom left, Wil Rogers, Jodi Nestander, Austin Morris and Ashley Frisbee starred in Oklahoma Shakespeare's 2017 Short Shakespeare touring production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The company has garnered a $40,000 grant from the Carolyn Watson Rural Oklahoma Community Foundation to expand its Short Shakespeare touring production in 2020. [Photo provided]

'Midsummer' opportunity

In its 36th season, Oklahoma Shakespeare has received one of the biggest grants in its history, said Kathryn McGill, executive and artistic director and co-founder. The company has garnered a $40,000 grant from the Carolyn Watson Rural Oklahoma Community Foundation to expand its Short Shakespeare touring production of The Bard's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"We'll be expanding our tour to a lot more new places - and we're expanding the cast from four actors to eight," said McGill, who will direct. "Not only are we doing it for schools, we're actually going to go to communities ... to do outdoor performances for them. So, it's a great opportunity for us,"

In 2017, the foundation gave Oklahoma Shakespeare a $15,000 grant to take its 90-minute version of "Midsummer" to rural communities across eastern Oklahoma, from Colbert and Carnegie to Tahlequah and Tushka. This year's extended tour will launch March 23.

"Then, we're going to bring that touring show back to the Myriad Gardens ... in June, and it will be 'Pay What You Will,' but on the Great Lawn, not on the Water Stage. So, picnics, lawn chairs, blankets, like in our old Hafer Park days," McGill said. "We have been wanting to figure out a way to get back to that nostalgia ... and we got tired of watching people peeking over the side (of the Water Stage barrier) and not being able to afford to get tickets."

The free June 18-28 Great Lawn run will give more people the chance to experience Shakespeare in downtown OKC.

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"Our tickets are already pretty low (cost) as they are; however, free is free. And that means literally anyone can afford to come," Woods said, adding the company is looking for a sponsorship for the OKC run.

From left, Lindsey Rollins and Jodianne Loyd star in Oklahoma Shakespeare's 2019 production of "Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker," which the company will reprise in 2020. [David Bricquet photo]

Christmas comeback

After a successful revival in 2019, Oklahoma Shakespeare will close its 2020 season with more nostalgia in the form of "Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker," Dec. 3-20 in the Paseo. Adapted by Oklahoma playwright Erin Woods from Austen’s novels and family letters, the interactive, family-friendly show was a seasonal tradition for three years at Reduxion Theatre, the classical company she and her husband, Tyler, operated from 2007 to 2016.

When Tyler Woods joined Oklahoma Shakespeare, the company decided to resurrect the popular holiday title.

"It was great. People loved it; they responded really well. ... That's another one we want everyone to come to and have a family experience," he said. "The whole idea was that you were stepping back in time into Jane Austen's home and that it just felt good. ... We've already sold tickets for it a year in advance."

Tommy Stuart, left, and Wil Rogers appear in Oklahoma Shakespeare's 2016 production of "Romeo and Juliet." The company is kicking off its 2020 season by revisiting one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies. [Photo provided]

Timely themes

Many of the titles on Oklahoma Shakespeare's new season will have timely themes. Although it is arguably the best-known love story in Western literature, even the season-opening production of "Romeo and Juliet" delves into deeper concepts in laying out the star-crossed circumstances for the scions of the Montague and Capulet clans.Although it is arguably the best-known love story in Western literature, even the season-opening production of "Romeo and Juliet" delves into deeper concepts in laying out the star-crossed circumstances for the scions of the Montague and Capulet clans.

"They're (from) two monied families that are looked up to by the community, so people do take sides. ... There's an escalation, and now it's got the whole city up in arms," McGill said.

"Honestly, when we pick a season, we're not trying to thematically do it. But what we do focus on is what's going on in the world. ... This year, it's conflict. It's others. It's us and them."

"It is about how we divide ourselves into factions," Woods added. "What art should do is force society to take a look at itself - and I think that's what we're trying to do with this season."

The company will present the Oklahoma premiere of Theresa Rebeck's fact-meets-fiction comedy "Bernhardt/Hamlet" Aug. 13-30. The 2018 title is based on the real-life career of French actress Sarah Bernhardt, one of the biggest stars of the stage and early-day films in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

"She was nearing the end of her career, and she was looking for new stimulation and said, 'A woman can play this male role.' She got a lot of pushback, but eventually did it," said McGill, who will star in the production.

"'Bernhardt/Hamlet' is all about female empowerment, and 'The Crucible' is about a young lady who's done wrong and she lashes out."

As the calendar turns toward Halloween, the theater will present Arthur Miller's 1953 Tony Award winner for best play, a partially fictionalized dramatization of the 1692 Salem witch trials that Miller penned in response to the 1950s McCarthy hearings. McGill will direct the Oct. 15-Nov. 1 production of "The Crucible," a fitting title for this contentious political era.

"It's being revived, and I think it's very interesting that there seems to be a burgeoning of productions throughout the United States now," she said. "I think it's Arthur Miller's best play. It's just a fabulous play. You forget how good it is and then just rereading it ... I was blown away."

Judith Pender plays Nurse and Hannah McCue as Juliet in Oklahoma Shakespeare's 2016 production of "Romeo and Juliet." The company is kicking off its 2020 season by revisiting one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies. [Photo provided]

Spring growth

Woods will helm Oklahoma Shakespeare's first spring show in recent memory April 9-26 with the conflict-driven pastoral comedy "As You Like It," in which Rosalind, one of The Bard's most beloved heroines, disguises herself as a man and seeks refuge in Forest of Arden after being wrongfully banished by her aristocrat uncle. In the forest, she encounters an array of colorful characters and embarks on a gender-bending romance.

"I like Shakespeare's women, across the board. I think they're all great. I think Lady M. is great - as this murderous wacko, she's great. She's a great character," Woods said with a laugh.

"I love Rosalind. ... I like her journey. I like her resourcefulness and her wit and intellect. Shakespeare's women are smart across the board, but I think Rosalind's probably the smartest."

The nonprofit theater also will introduce a new fundraiser this spring: The Renaissance Roast April 25 at the Greens Country Club. The company will honor Mayor David Holt at the event.

"He's just a good guy ... so we're honoring him in a funny way," McGill said.

Hal Kohlman appears in Oklahoma Shakespeare's 2012 production of "Othello." A mainstay of the company, Kohlman will play Friar Laurence in the theater's 2020 season opener, "Romeo and Juliet." [Photo provided]rom left, Wil Rogers, Jodi Nestander, Austin Morris and Ashley Frisbee starred in Oklahoma Shakespeare's 2017 Short Shakespeare touring production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The company has garnered a $40,000 grant from the Carolyn Watson Rural Oklahoma Community Foundation to expand its Short Shakespeare touring production in 2020. [Photo provided] From left, Lindsey Rollins and Jodianne Loyd star in Oklahoma Shakespeare's 2019 production of "Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker," which the company will reprise in 2020. [David Bricquet photo]Tommy Stuart, left, and Wil Rogers appear in Oklahoma Shakespeare's 2016 production of "Romeo and Juliet." The company is kicking off its 2020 season by revisiting one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies. [Photo provided]Judith Pender plays Nurse and Hannah McCue as Juliet in Oklahoma Shakespeare's 2016 production of "Romeo and Juliet." The company is kicking off its 2020 season by revisiting one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies. [Photo provided]

Brandy McDonnell

Brandy McDonnell, also known by her initials BAM, writes stories and reviews on movies, music, the arts and other aspects of entertainment. She is NewsOK’s top blogger: Her 4-year-old entertainment news blog, BAM’s Blog, has notched more than 1...
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